TUALATIN -- Greg Oden is eager to get his first taste of the NBA. Brandon Roy is ready to test his left knee. LaMarcus Aldridge is set to put the Trail Blazers' newfound defensive focus to test. And everyone on the roster, it seems, longs to compete against someone who isn't wearing red and black.

And coach Nate McMillan? What's he looking for when the Blazers open their exhibition season tonightTuesday night at 7 p.m. against the Sacramento Kings at the Rose Garden?

"We just want to see where we are," he said. "We've had a good training camp and now we get our first opportunity to see ourselves against someone else ... That's what tomorrow's all about. That's what the preseason is about; to get out there and play and measure yourself, see some things you need to work on."

McMillan said he plans to play at least 10 players in tonight's exhibition opener, and it appears Sergio Rodriguez will start over rookie Jerryd Bayless at point guard in place of injured Steve Blake and Martell Webster will start over Travis Outlaw at small forward.

Roy, who has made impressive strides in his recovery from Aug. 14 surgery to repair a partial tear of his left knee, and Aldridge, who has been the standout of camp so far and appears poised for an All-Star-type season, also will start. But, surely, all eyes will be on Oden, the 7-foot center who missed all of last season with microfracture knee surgery.

Bruce Ely,The OregonianGreg Oden (left) will get his first taste of NBA competition Tuesday night when the Blazers play host to the Sacramento Kings in an exhibition game at the Rose Garden. He expects to play no more than 15 minutes against the Kings or in Wednesday night's game against Golden State.

The Oden plan

Oden will take the most significant steps to date in his knee rehabilitation when he makes his Rose Garden game debut. In Monday's practice, when the Blazers underwent an intense, defense-oriented scrimmage, Oden was as active, poised and in as good shape as he has been at any point of training camp, blocking shots, corralling rebounds and moving fluidly inside and out during the Blazers' zone defense preparation.

He also was the last player to leave the practice floor, some 30 minutes after it had ended, as he stayed behind for extra work with assistant coach Maurice Lucas.

But still, Oden will be limited over the next two days, when the Blazers play a back-to-back against the Kings and Golden State. Oden said he plans to play in both games, but likely would not go more than 15 minutes in either.

"I expect to go hard and hope that some good things happen out there," Oden said. "I'm still going to be learning and going against some different competition, other than Joel (Przybilla) and Steve (Hill) and all the guys on this team, so it's going to be different for me. But I'm going to go and play hard and do what I can."

He will be tested immediately against the Kings, who feature a versatile trio of 7-foot players in promising second-year center Spencer Hawes, veteran Brad Miller and Mikki Moore, who started 79 games last season.

Roy, Blake limited this week

Roy is taking a different approach to recovery from knee surgery. He said he hopes to play as many as 24 minutes tonight against the Kings, but does not plan on playing Wednesday against the Warriors.

"Right now, it's (about taking) baby steps," Roy said. "I think I'm ready to go. I've been pushing it, I haven't held back on anything in practice, I've been going all practice and doing everything. I'm just excited to get out there and finally compete against some guys besides my teammates."

Steve Blake, who injured his left hamstring the second day of training camp, will not get that opportunity. Blake probably will miss another week, including three exhibition games. McMillan said his starting point guard has made some progress -- "He's walking better, which is a lot better than he was doing on Saturday" -- but Blake does not appear close to running, let alone participating in any basketball-related activities.

Chance for backup PGs

Blake's untimely injury has opened the door for Rodriguez and Bayless. Rodriguez will get the start tonight because of his experience, but both figure to get a heavy dose of playing time this week. McMillan said Bayless would be the first point guard off the bench and could play some shooting guard, as well.

For Rodriguez, who endured inconsistency and a lack of playing time last season, this could be an important week. He worked throughout the offseason at refining his jump shot, adding more arc to what was a flat stroke, and the results have been positive thus far in camp. He also needs to show he can play better defensively, a must under McMillan, a defensive-minded point guard in his playing days.

"I would say he's a lot more consistent with his outside shooting and defensively he's doing a good job of keeping guys in front," Roy said of Rodriguez. "I think as long as Sergio makes shots and he keeps guys in front on defense, he'll be fine because he's great in the open court. And coach just wants him to pick up on some minor things that I think he did improve on."

Defense has not been a problem for Bayless, the NBA Summer League MVP who will see his first action against top-line NBA talent.

"I'm interested to see how they officiate with his defense," Roy said. "He's a bulldog. But the thing is for him to be aggressive and smart in the game. I think, offensively, I'm interested to see how he controls his unit, how he gets guys in the right spots. But at the same time, he's a tough player, so we're looking forward to seeing him play, to see what he does."